


Inevitability

by ArgylePirateWD



Category: Forever (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Literal Sleeping Together, Platonic bed sharing, Romantic Bed Sharing, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-05-18 15:47:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5933920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArgylePirateWD/pseuds/ArgylePirateWD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She'd somehow fallen for the weirdest man she'd ever met.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Inevitability

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GreyTabbyCat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreyTabbyCat/gifts).



If she tried to pinpoint the moment they got together, Jo would fail spectacularly. Somewhere between drinks and dinners, shared secrets and solved cases, Isaac, Abe's mother—who was somehow _Henry's_ Abigail, what the hell—and everything else, she'd somehow fallen for the weirdest man she'd ever met. And she kept waking up beside him.

Jo doubted anyone would believe that all they did was sleep.

They'd been working nonstop for days, trying to get the pieces of a case put together into something resembling order, both living on coffee and whatever food someone set in front of them. She'd lost track of the number of times she'd asked questions like, "Okay, what are the symptoms of a brain bleed, because I feel like mine's gonna start leaking out of my eyeballs any second now," and "Why isn't the coffee working? _God_..."

Henry always had an answer, the bastard. More often than not, though, they came with him draining another cup of coffee instead of his trademark smirks and smugness. And even if he were awake enough for his cocky genius routine, he made good coffee, and he never let her cup stay empty for long. Jo couldn't complain.

They slept on the couch the first night, her face smashed against his shoulder, her open mouth leaving behind an embarrassing puddle of drool on his shirt. When he noticed, he laughed softly, and with a drowsy smile, he called her "completely endearing," and assured her his clothes had seen much, much worse.

"Need I remind you that I am a medical examiner _and_ a father?" he said, stretching his neck. "Or that I used to be a practicing physician? A friend's saliva is nothing."

Friend. She felt a stab of disappointment at the word. The last thing she wanted to do was look too closely at why. Not until she'd had at least three cups of coffee, or, preferably, something stronger.

Henry distracted her with a small groan. "A sore neck, however," he said, wincing as he rubbed his neck, "is a problem I'd rather not be dealing with."

Cringing in sympathy, Jo said, "Here, let me give you a hand," and began squeezing the tight muscles at the back of Henry's neck, expecting him to protest.

Instead, Henry sighed, and dropped his hand to his lap. "Thank you," he said, leaning into her touch.

"Yeah, well, maybe we—I mean _you_ —should sleep in a real bed next time." He raised an amused eyebrow at her slip-up, and she couldn't resist adding, "Gramps."

"Perhaps that would be best," he said, giving her an annoyed look. She bit back a laugh. "A bed is indeed much better for sleeping. And, speaking of which: You are welcome to share my bed anytime, Detective."

His lesson learned, Henry went to his bed the next night, and, after an hour spent tossing and turning on the couch, Jo decided to join him.

"Not one word," she said, when Henry woke as she climbed in beside him.

As the case dragged on, so did her stay at Henry's. Each morning, she found herself pressed against him, his arms around her and her legs tangled with his. In the ever-growing line of shitty and exhausting days, sleeping with Henry and waking up beside him—and Abe's fond teasing—were the only real bright spots, the moments she looked forward to the most.

Snuggling closer to him when she got into bed started naturally. Henry didn't protest.

"You don't mind, do you?" she asked. "I just..." _Want to be next to you_ , she thought.

Pulling her into his embrace, he said, "You don't have to explain," and kissed her forehead. "Just sleep."

So she did. Lying in Henry's warm arms on his soft bed was comfortable, and comforting. World muffled by blankets and the near-quiet of night, he'd hold her in his arms, and she'd pillow her head on his chest and let the steady rhythm of his old, old heart lull her to sleep.

"What are we?" she asked the next morning, as she absently traced the smooth skin of his belly, where his shirt had ridden up during the night. "Are we a couple, or..."

Henry chuckled, the sound a rich rumble in his chest, and he kissed the top of her head. "I was hoping you knew the answer to that question," he said, and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

She glanced up, and found him watching her, looking at her like she was everything, a sweet and tiny smile curving his lips. God, she loved his smile—loved more than his smile, as beautiful as it was. Unable to help herself, she smiled back. Her chest ached with emotion, affection, love. "Henry..."

Gently, he shushed her, and stroked her cheek reverently with his fingertips. "I care so very, _very_ much for you," he said, his voice soft. "And if you wish for us to be a couple...I'd like that."

Kissing him felt inevitable, instinctual, even as it made her heart pound and her stomach flutter, her fear and elation indistinguishable from one another. Henry's eyes fell closed, and his lips opened for her, welcomed her, while his arms tightened around her. No fanfare, only the gentle, sweet slide of their lips, and the whisper of their quietly shared breaths.

When they parted, Henry had a sleepy smirk on his face. "I take it that means yes, we are, then," he said.

Ignoring the giddiness bubbling up inside her, she made a show of wrinkling her nose and said, "Ugh, morning breath, gross," for the joy of seeing his obnoxious smugness turn to huffy indignation. He didn't disappoint.

Between her laughs, Jo kissed the scowl off Henry's face.


End file.
